Dead Man's Party
by roisaber
Summary: High school junior Moya Winters discovers a side of her family that her father went to great lengths to hide from her. WARNING: Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross Giovanni rituals!


My name is Moya Winters, and I first met my cousin Maria Rabinovici at a party.

I found the invitation my mother tried to hide from me while doing my daily chores; I only found it at all because it fell out of the trash while I was taking the misshapen sack out to throw it in the can outside. The note was handwritten, and the ink glittered like gold under the security floodlight that illuminated our suburban home in Reseda. It was beautiful. The handwriting had the elegant flow of calligraphy, and it was so intricate I could barely make out the words. I resolved right then and there to make good on the invitation addressed directly to me. I snuck the thick paper, marred with coffee grounds and an orange juice stain, into the pocket of my jeans. The week before the party could hardly pass fast enough. When the day came, I put on a black dress frilled with lace and netted with gold silk.

"Mom, I'm going to the movies with Cole and Sophie," I announced on my way out the door.

"Stop right there young lady! Who said you could up and leave without giving me a moment's notice?" Damn! Before I could find the car keys for the Lexus my mom came into the foyer. "And why are you dressed up like that?"

I decided that dishonesty was the best policy. "Another guy might be going too. He's cute."

"Is your homework done? Do you have any studying to do?"

"No, mom. It's almost the end of the year and the teachers have basically stopped trying."

My mom sighed and I saw her give in.

"Please give me a little more notice next time. And be back by eleven, you hear?"

"Of course, mom." I gave her a peck on the cheek. "Thanks."

"I was young once too, you know."

I grinned and decided to give her a little ribbing. "Yeah, I think I saw your picture in Archeology Today. Minoan Crete, right?"

My mom's eyes flashed just as I found the keys to the Lexus buried under a bunch of magazines on the coffee table. Before she could sputter a retort, I was out the door and enjoying the warm evening air of the San Fernando Valley in summer. My neighborhood smelled like honeysuckle and jasmine, and a cool breeze kept the day's fading heat from becoming oppressive. One touch on the key fob and the Lexus woke up to greet me, warm light filling the car's interior from the dome light in the roof. I checked the mirrors and the headlights, and then pulled out onto the sleepy streets of my neighborhood. I used the GPS in my phone so that there wouldn't be a record of my search in the car's navigation system.

The address was for a place in Beverly Hills. The _nice_ part of Beverly Hills - not the proletarian south side. As I sat in Los Angeles' infamous traffic, I got to wondering who sent me the invitation in the first place. It was signed by Anton Rabinovici, who I'd never heard of but sounded like somebody from my father's side of the family. We never saw hide or hair of them, and upon marriage, my dad took my mother's last name instead of vice versa. The whole thing was so weird. I'm not sure what happened between them, but obviously my father wanted to keep away from his family as much as possible.

The first obstacle was the gatehouse, which was manned by a gruff and very large dude wearing a tuxedo. He looked at the Lexus like it was a dead cat.

"Name?" he asked, without the slightest hint of warmth.

Ugh. Big guys, like, totally do it for me. I wanted to give him a big kiss or at least my number. But he's help, and even a suburban girl like me knows you never consort with the help.

"Moya Winters," I answered.

"Invitation?" he asked in an equally clipped tone.

Good thing I remembered to bring it! I slipped him the invitation and watched him mull over it with irritation. He queried a clipboard and then the actual house itself while I became increasingly nervous. Was it something I said?

When he turned his attention back to me, his tone was a little – but not much – softer. "Welcome to House Rabinovici, Miss Winters. Please proceed up the drive."

With that, the big gate clattered open and I drove through. How exciting!

I drove along the driveway and around a curve in the trees I saw the house itself. It was white, and huge, and blazing with light. A bunch of cars were parked out in front and I suddenly realized why the guard had looked at me with such obvious distaste. A Lexus was a nice thing to drive to school but here it would be surrounded by makes from Rolls Royce, Maserati, and Bugatti. Any one of those cars probably cost as much as my house. A little humbled, I parked at the very end and didn't even get a chance to open my door before a uniformed servant could do it for me.

"Milady." Nothing but deference this time.

I didn't know what to think. Two doormen opened the big red doors as I approached and revealed the most fancy party I've ever seen inside. With growing trepidation, I made my way through the doors and tried to ignore the curious glances occasionally thrown my way by the revelers. To my profound relief, I soon heard a voice at nearby calling my name.

"Moya?"

I turned to see an elegantly dressed older gentleman holding a glass of red wine and smiling broadly. I had butterflies in my stomach but I forced my face into the approximation of at least a grimace.

"That's me! Uh, I mean, pleased to make your acquaintance mister…?"

"Pardon me. I'm Anton Rabinovici; welcome to my home. We've never met but I'm actually your great uncle on your father's side."

"It's good to meet you Mr. Rabinovici. Thank you for your generous invitation."

He laughed. "Call me Anton. Please excuse me. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you later but right now, I have to attend to my other guests."

I didn't know protocol so I just nodded.

By the strange Brownian motion that governs parties, I soon found myself standing closer and closer to the kitchen. Even wearing the nicest dress I'd ever owned I still felt woefully underdressed. A few of the other attendees said a few polite words to me, asking me who I was and wear I was from, but it honestly just seemed like rote formality. I almost wanted to leave until I heard a voice whispering to me from a darkened hallway leading deeper into the mansion.

"Psst! Hey, over here!"

I turned only to see a shadowy figure standing in the doorway of one of the mansion's many rooms.

"Hey! I want to talk to you for a sec!"

The voice belonged to a girl my age, and without anything else to do, I followed it into the room.

She was pretty. Like me, she had brown hair and green eyes. Unlike me, she was dressed in a torn up t-shirt, fishnet stockings, and a short jean skirt. It may sound weird but I empathized with her immediately. She looked me up and down in the dim light coming from the lit fireplace, making me feel a little self-conscious. Finally she spoke.

"So, you're my replacement. A pretty little thing, I'll give you that."

I felt myself involuntarily backpedaling. "Um, I'm sorry! I'm not trying to replace anybody."

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. And Daddy would never do anything to hurt me anyway. He's just decided to assign me to other projects; projects more suited to my _indelicate_, _inelegant barbarism_." Her eyes glittered with mirth as she said that. I wasn't sure if I was totally creeped out or if I liked her a lot. "My name is Maria – Maria Rabinovici."

She stuck out a hand and not knowing what else to do, I shook it.

"Moya Winters."

Maria grinned with reckless intent. "And soon to be Moya Rabinovici."

I gasped in spite of myself. "I'm not ready to get married…!"

"It's not like that," she laughed in response. "You'll find out all about what it's about though, and soon." She suddenly cocked her head. "What's the _worst_ thing you've ever done?"

I stalled for time. "What do you mean by worst? Grossest, or meanest, or…?"

Her grin was downright vampiric. "I mean _worst_."

"Uh… I cut off Alexandra Farias' ponytail in second grade. She was devastated."

Maria rolled her eyes. "_Boring_. Want to do something worse right now?"

I suddenly felt a presence behind me, and with relief I turned to see that it was Anton.

"Maria, that's enough," the distinguished man said mildly. "Please allow me to speak to our guest in private."

Maria laughed and headed out of the room, but back into the darkened hallway and not towards the party.

"She'll do, Daddy," she announced as she left.

Anton rubbed his temples. "I apologize for my daughter. She's a little…"

"Indelicate and inelegant?" I asked with contrived innocence.

He actually laughed, and my heart flooded with unexpected warmth. "Exactly that. She has her charms, I'll grant you. Do you mind taking a seat? I wanted to ask you some questions."

I shifted nervously but sat in a high-backed leather chair, studded with brass rivets.

"You're in eleventh grade, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"I must say that I'm quite impressed with your accomplishments. Perfect report card after perfect report card, state finalist in spelling, geography, math… regional swim meet speed champion – it seems like there's nothing you don't excel at. And, forgive me for adding, but you're quite beautiful as well."

I blushed fiercely. If he weren't my great uncle… he'd actually be kind of cute.

You know, for an old guy.

"My daughter – an only child - is talented and charming, in her own way. But she's not a suitable heiress for all the work I've done. I'm wondering if _you_ might be a better choice, given the breadth of your accomplishments and at such an early age."

"Th… thank you for your vote of confidence, sir. But you hardly even know me."

Anton gave me a wry smile. "In spite of your father's efforts, I might know you better than you expect. Family is very important to House Rabinovici, and we look after our own. Even if we sometimes have to do it from the shadows."

"What exactly are you asking of me?"

"Direct and to the point; I like it." Anton grinned. "I'd like you to review this contract and… _think_ about it for awhile."

And then he handed me an actual scroll with, like, actual papyrus. My brain hurt while I tried to read the legalese, which was compounded by the elegance of the calligraphy. In effect, the contract seemed to read, upon Anton's someday maybe inevitable death I'd inherit his businesses, investments, and properties. What I had to do in return was swear undying fealty to the family itself. I'd have to always put its interests ahead of my own. And, most of all, I'd have to look after Maria. It was obvious Anton didn't trust her to look after herself in my absence. A glass of wine materialized next to me from some servant and I took a big gulp while I wrestled with my feelings.

"How long do I have to decide?" I asked with a lump in my throat.

"Take a few hours and think about it."

Half-dazed, I stumbled out of the firelit room and into the darkened hallway. All at once somebody grabbed my arm and dragged me into the shadows; I quickly saw that it was Maria. Before I could resist she jammed her lips into mine, and I was astonished by how cold her searching tongue felt in my mouth. She groped my boobs through my dress without a moment's hesitation or shame.

"Mmpfh!" I protested. "Mm mm mmmfp mm mm!"

She finally let me go and regarded me with a grin.

"You know what my new job is, right?" she asked with a tone that didn't make me feel quite safe. "I don't get to be Daddy's little heiress anymore, but I get something much better instead. You know that family always comes first, right?"

"Well… of course. The only way to get by in the world is to have people that you can absolutely rely on."

"Come up and see my room!"

Maria half dragged me down the hallway and up an opulent set of marble stairs, dimly lit by indirect lighting coming from hidden fixtures. Maria's room was the third on the left, and I was surprised by how normal it looked in spite of its large size. She had posters of boys and bands cluttering the walls; a big television accessorized with all the latest video game consoles; a lava lamp and a big stupid collection of Hummel figurines. Maria sidled up and spoke into my ear while I took it all in.

"If Daddy gets to be the one to bring you into the family, I get to be the one to take you first, at least."

Her cool breath fluttered the tiny hairs on my ear and made my heart pound in my chest. This was wrong, all wrong. We were cousins or second cousins or something. I wasn't even sure I was interested in girls at all. But somehow it didn't matter. Before I knew what was happening I was beneath her in bed, my dress inelegantly pushed over my torso and Maria's face in my crotch. I let out my voice in spite of myself.

"Mm… mmph… mmm…. Ahhh… hey! No biting!"

"Sorry, cousin."

I shuddered at the reminder as Maria continued to lap at my glistening womanhood. She had an experienced tongue and she knew just where to strike; where to caress; where to penetrate. I felt a great hot light building up in my chest and I suddenly came with a force and a fury that none of the boys I'd ever been with had even come close to matching. Maria loomed over me with her characteristic grin.

"See, wasn't that fun? If you move in we can do it every day!"

"Move… in?" My brain felt cloudy. Everything was happening so fast.

"Daddy wants you to start learning the business right away. He doesn't expect that he'll die any time soon – obviously – but he still will want to give you as much instruction as possible."

"But, Maria, my family…"

That was the first time I saw Maria angry, and it was terrifying.

"Fuck your family!" she roared, eyes blazing with fury. "They turned their backs on us! They abandoned the Faith! Your father even changed his _name_ to try to get away from us."

Then she looked down and saw how frightened I was, and her tone softened.

"It's okay, Moya. It's not your fault. But if you want to protect your parents from Daddy's vengeance, you're going to be the one who has to appease him."

I was shaking, and all the post-orgasmic bliss had drained away and left me cold in its wake. Maria was threatening me – threatening my family.

"It all would have been fine, you know," Maria went on. "It would have been fine if I'd turned out like Daddy intended. We kept an eye on you but there was never any reason to interfere. Your father took his inheritance and spent it on a dumb mort- a dumb university, dumb archeology, and went to dumb Turkey to dig up dumb old stones. But he kept quiet about what he knew. It would have been fine. But you see…"

Maria swept her hands up and down her body, referring to herself. I got a terrifying and inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

"I'm the type to just remain a teenager forever. Daddy thought it was cute at first, but he's come to think of it as rather grating. That's why you're perfect. You still have the flower of youth, but you're also an accomplished academic and athlete. You can play either role with ease instead of just being _inelegant_ and _immature_. Look at your pretty little dress! You'd look so much better with Rabinovici money behind you."

I tried to stall. "Aren't you mad or something? Aren't I taking your inheritance from you?"

Maria threw back her head and laughed.  
"Mad? You dumb girl, I'm _relieved_. Now I'll get to serve the family the way _I_ want to, instead of having to learn stupid protocols and boring business shit. As long as I have a big television; a record player; and some toys to play with, that's quite enough responsibility for me."

Did she say toys, or boys? I didn't have time to ask before Anton strode into the room.

"Maria! Don't tell me you've been…!"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Daddy. We were just fooling around. She's all yours now."

"Follow me, both of you." His imperious tone brooked no disobedience.

I followed Anton down the stairs, while Maria stayed close at my heels.

With a conversational tone that betrayed nothing, Anton asked, "Have you decided about our contract?"

"It's all so sudden," I admitted. "Do you know Maria asked me to move in?"

"Can you put Our Family first, in spite of any obstacles that arise?"

I took a deep breath. "What about _my_ family? My dad and my mom?"

"Hurry up and tell her Daddy!" Maria gushed.

Through some hand motion I didn't see, Anton opened a secret passage in the wall. The air coming out of the stone tunnel was cold and it smelled of decay. I wanted to retch. I wanted to run. But with Maria standing just behind me, I knew I wouldn't get far if I fled. She forced me forward, after Anton, as we started down the steps of the tunnel.

"Why don't you tell her, young lady?" Anton answered mildly.

"You'll never leave this house alive!" Maria gloated immediately. "Daddy always gets what he wants!"

I tried to shrink away, but I was pressed between the father and the daughter. The sides of the tunnel were thick stone and it was only three feet across. There was nowhere to run.

"My daughter is being a little melodramatic," Anton said. "Still, I think you'll find signing the contract to be preferable to the … alternatives."

"Why me?" I asked in a little voice, feeling the pinpricks of tears welling up in my eyes.

"Because you're family!" Maria put in cheerily.

We made it down to the bottom of the steps, perhaps fifty feet below the first floor of the mansion proper. The smell of decay had been growing the whole time, and now it was a horrifying crescendo of rot and putreficiation.

"This is our laboratory!" Maria announced. "We study all kinds of fun things, here."

Anton turned to his daughter. "What do you think? Before, or after?"

Maria scrunched up her face and thought.

"Before," she finally answered. "If we wait until after, she'd have some of the vitae to help her cope."

My voice came out as a squeak. "What's going on?"

Anton spoke to Maria as if he hadn't heard my question. "Very well, I'll go upstairs and prepare the party to officially welcome our guest of honor. You can handle the initiation. _Don't_ usurp my authority on this, Maria. I would hate to have to destroy so much potential."

"Of course, Daddy. I like this one."

Anton finally turned to me in the dim candlelight.

"Moya, you may find this… unpleasant. But there are things you have to understand about our family. No taboo, no violation, no degradation is too great in our quest to understand the secrets of living and dying. You must experience this truth firsthand."

With that, he turned and headed back towards the staircase. Maria rubbed her hands together with glee and led me to a bloodstained table with open manacles.

"Get on the table," Maria announced in a voice that seemed to crawl inside my head and set up residence there.

But somewhere deep inside myself, I found a well of hidden resistance. I put my hands on my hips and steeled myself hard.

"No!" I cried in response.

Maria rolled her eyes. Somehow, her voice got even firmer. "Get down on the table."

I feinted to the left and then bolted rightward. Faster than I could believe, Maria flung out her leg and tripped me, sending me sprawling down onto the sticky floor. In a flash she was on top of me, pinning my arms to the ground.

"Stop struggling!" she hissed. Then her voice took on a different pitch. "Moya, I'm your friend. I know you're scared but all new experiences are scary at first. Trust me."

She was so strong! I couldn't even wiggle my arms, let alone break free. I was no weakling myself after years on the swim team but her strength was out of this world. I tried not to listen to her increasingly gentle words, but I started to feel very… dizzy.

"I'm going to let you go. Stand up, Moya."

Well that was obvious, wasn't it? I'd have to stand up if I was going to escape. Effortlessly, I stood.

"Walk over to the table."

That too was obvious. If I could keep the table between Maria and I, I could feint and then flee from this dungeon.

"Good. Now, lie down on the table."

The logic of this was a little harder to understand, but I knew that she'd inevitably lean over me for a kiss, and then I could plant both feet with all my force directly into her sensitive boobs. The surface of the table was sticky, and, well, gross, and it made the back of my dress cling to my skin.

Before I could even think, I heard a click as one of the manacles closed around my right wrist. In a flash I tried to stand, but Maria was still faster, and she shoved me back down onto the table and shackled my left wrist in the same motion. I writhed on the stone surface, but it was no use. With both of my wrists locked it was only a matter of time before she was able to manacle my ankles as well. I was satisfied when a well-aimed kick caught her in the chest, drawing a sharp exhalation of breath, but I paid for it because she got my last free limb shackled the moment she regained her balance.

"Good job," Maria huffed. "You put up a hell of a fight, for a mortal. Daddy chose well."

Then she loomed over me, licking her lips. "I'm really going to enjoy this, Moya…"

To my horror, I realized she had her hand shoved down the front of her skirt, and was rubbing vigorously.

"ነይ!" she suddenly cried in a language I didn't understand. "God this is fucking hot."

I heard a groan coming from outside my field of vision, and the smell of decay got a lot stronger. I had enough control back to try to struggle against the manacles, but it did me no good. They were far too strong to break.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

Maria only laughed. "ዝም በል."

Something shuffled out of the darkness.

Something awful.

It was like – no, it was – a walking corpse. There could be no doubt about it. Much of the flesh had fallen off its body, and it stank beyond anything I imagined was remotely possible. Its body was crawling with maggots and flies followed in its wake. Somehow, unbelievably, Maria was still masturbating despite the oncoming horror. I'd seen enough zombie movies to expect the worst, and I tried desperately to break free of my bonds.

Then I noticed the thing had a raging erection.

Maria saw that I noticed. "That's right, Moya. I've used my powers to reanimate him and give him a singular purpose in mind. You."

"Maria, please no…" I whispered.

"It's something we all have to do once!" She replied. The walking corpse strode up beside her and paused for a moment. I almost retched from the stench, but Maria was entirely unfazed. In fact, she licked the awful thing. "And if you're anything like me, once is _never_ enough."

I suddenly realized how vulnerable I was with my legs shackled to the table. There was nothing I could do to close my legs, and Maria's innuendo was easy enough to understand. Maria pointed, and suddenly the thing was on top of me, clawing at my dress with its long corpse nails and scratching cuts in my skin. I screamed and then puked, and vomit splattered on the corpse and all over my chest. For her part, Maria laughed.

She was right about the thing's singlemindedness. It scratched away at my panties until it finally managed to rip them off, but not before shredding the lower half of my skirt in the process and giving me deep abrasions all over my legs. I felt squirming things land on the stomach of my dress and my boobs as maggots dropped off the thing and started feasting on chunks of vomit I'd thrown up all over myself. The thought of it, combined with the smell of the monster made me throw up again, and my sinuses burned with unexpelled bile from deep within violated body. Maria was rubbing her pussy so hard I could hear it even over the corpse's occasional groans.

Now that my lips were exposed, the fetid thing repositioned itself and slid its rotten cock into my pussy. I could feel the sting of maggots crawling in my pussy hair and occasionally biting my most sensitive regions. Dark blood, no longer red but almost black, stained my black dress with ichor as the thing started to rhythmically thrust into my cunt. The sensation was made more agonizing by the fact that in spite of everything, the physical sensation of sex was still able to cloud the most primitive parts of my brain which gave no heed to revulsion or morals or devilry, and only responded to the regular widening and narrowing of my vaginal walls as the thing pushed in and pulled out.

I vomited again, this time nothing but liquid acid from the deepest part of my belly. In spite of it all I could feel myself starting to ride an animal wave towards orgasm. I tried to force myself to stop; I tried to focus on the unremitting and agonizing horror of the situation. Maria's sultry moans came to my ears and it was obvious she was close to coming off herself – she hadn't even taken off her panties! The three of us came simultaneously. Maria with a sudden, shaking, breathy groan. The monster with a raspy grunt that drained cold fluid into my quaking pussy. And me, with a scream and tears of utter violation streaming down my cheeks. Something awful drained out of me.

Maria recovered first.

"ወጊድ!" she ordered.

The thing obediently climbed off of me and clambered back into the shadows.

"Come on, Moya!" she said cheerfully. "It's time to present you to the guests."

"No…" I could only whisper.

"Come on! Everyone will be so glad to see our new family member."

Maria undid the shackles and stood me up. I was falling apart. I was shaking too much to even try to run, and a quick dab at my lower region showed that the fluid the monster had left in me wasn't even semen – it was more of the black blood, rotted for days.

"I'm… it's… I…"

I was astonished when Maria pressed herself against me, polluting herself with the same fluids and revolting insects currently staining me. She kissed me, and I was too weak to resist. She searched the inside of my mouth with her tongue and drew me close.

"Shh. Don't worry." Maria cocked her head. "Moya, you'll probably come to love it. I know I do. But you have no choice. You're one of us, now; who in the mortal world would ever accept you now? Who could you go to for comfort? Who would understand, or even believe you? You're a Rabinovici now."

My dress was shredded and didn't even protect my modesty any more; my legs were thighs were slick with blood and God only knew what else; and I was still picking tiny maggots out of my pubes when Maria forced me out in front of the entire dinner party. And to my astonishment – to my complete and indescribable shock – they all started clapping. Maria was right. I'd been violated so thoroughly now that this was the only place I could possibly belong.

"Welcome, guest of honor!" Anton exclaimed, drawing another round of polite applause. "The fact that you're standing on your own two feet proves that you did well."

"The toy took her greedily, Daddy," Maria announced with good cheer.

"And now, to complete the ritual. Does anyone have any objections?"

Anton's voice boomed through the room, and there were none. Maria grabbed my arms and held me while Anton advanced. I was beyond shock, and even the intense blossom of fiery pain that erupted when he drove his teeth into my neck seemed distant and unreal, as though it were happening to someone else. After a thousand years of agony I fell asleep.

When I finally awoke, there was another body laying underneath the sheets next to me. A body that didn't breathe. A body with hair that was still sticky with shared blood and gore. Maria's body. I tried to take a deep breath, couldn't, and panicked.

"Maria!" I shook her. I hated her. I loved her. She was the only one who knew what I'd been through. "Maria, help! I can't breathe!"

Maria mumbled something and rolled over. Finally, I shook her to wakefulness.

"Maria… I'm… so thirsty…"


End file.
